Automatic phonograph.



H. T. SCOTT L L. J. PATTERSON,

AUTOMATIC PHONOGRAPH.

APPLIUATION PIL'BD umn, 1912.

:Mmmm

atented Oct. 1, 1912.

H. T. SCOTT & L. J. FATTERSGN.

AUTOMATIC PHONOQRAPH. APPLIUATION FILED AP'IL. 11, 1912.

Patented Oct. l, 1912 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

l I m l n I w n n l m a W n l 0 illlllllllllllllIlilllll lllll lili-@TED lllrlftlldt HARRY T. SCOTT AND LEO J. PATTRRSN, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFGRNA; SAI

ATTEBSN ASSGNOR 'EG SfaD SCOTT. v

AUTOMATC roaonaa Specification of Letters Patent.

latented Get. 1, 1912,

Application filed April 11. 1912. Serial No. 90,116.

To ally whom if may 'crmccrnf lie it known that. ive, HARRY T. Sco'rr and Mliiil PA'r'rmison, citizens ot the United States, both residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles` State ot California., have invented new and useful Improvements in. Automatic Phonographs, of which the following, is a specifica-tion.

rll"his invertion relatesI to an automatic phonograph lor playing automatically and srrressively a number of phonograph records of the ordinary cylindrical, or Edison type and the invention consists primarily in an arrangement of mechanisms whereby the records are carried with their axesin vertical positions and are moved from tl're carrying` member. magazine or table, to a position adjacentI the reproducing'mechanism, automatic means being employed Ytor then so operating the record and the reproducinjj` mechanism as to reproduce the sound from the record and to then return the record to the magazine or tahle. v

ln its specific preferred embodiment. our invention consists of a suitable movable record carrying: magazine or table., preferably a .horizontally rotating table mounted on a vertical axis. the table having vpockets arranged around its periphery in which the cylindrical recordsI are adapted to loosely rest. The records thus stand in their nor# mal vertical positions without forcible conY tact with a mandrel or an)7 other device; in fact, the records are as tree from liability to deterioration and breakage as they are when packed in specially made cases. The records rest on annular shelves in the tahlc pockets. the pockets extending with reduced diameter down through the table, so that there an opening under each pocket through which the recordraising memher and record engaging mandrel may pass. The table is provided with. an intermittent rotating mechanism so that it may he moved to place successive records over the record engaging mandrel; but it will be seen from the following specification that this table moving mechanism may be thrown ont of action temporarily or completely, or that it may he moved by hand instead of hy its automat-ie mechanism. The record engaging mandrel is mounted on the. upper end ot the vertically movable and rotatable shaft,

the action of the shaft being firstto move vertically and engage the mandrel with the record immediately abo-ve, move the record to a point adjacentl the reproducing mechanism, and then to rotate and slowly move downwardly in a manner designed to keep the sound groove of the record `in engage ment with the reproducing; point or stylus. In other Words, the record is both rotated and moved longitudinally given tivo distinct movements-instead of as heretofore rotating the record and moving the reproducing;l mechanism longitudinally alongr the record. In our machine the reproducing mechanism is held stationary, at. least so :tar Inovement along the record is concerned. When the record carrying mandrel is moved down ivardly to a point Where the reproduction of a record is completed, the mechanism allows the mandrel to move quickly to its lowermostposition. ln additionito this the record is left in its pocket on the table and immediately the mandrel has reached its lower-most positidn and is free of the table. the table is rotated through a cert-ain portion of a revolution to bring the next record directly over the mandrel. `W hen this has heen accomplished the mandrel is again started upward and the whole operation is repeated. We have provided certain devices for the manual control of this mechanism, allowing the records to he played in any desired manner. lf desired the table operating mechanism may he thrown out of action and the table or other record support moved by hand.

chine. It the magazine or table of the ma" The recordsl need not then he 'played 1n succession as placed upon the roo chine will contain a dozen records, the op erator may select the dozen or less records he Wishes to hear, place them in the machine and pull out the starting button. The ma* chine is preferably operated electrically; and operation of the startingrfhntton closes lli 'used to reproduce the electric circuit to the operating motor. The mechanism immediately starts operation, engaging and reproducingl the lirst record, passing immediately to the nextA one and so on until it has played the entire number selected. Should the operator then desire, the machine will keep on indefinitely repeatingl the records in succession. llVhen it is desired to stop the machine, the starting and stoppingbutton is pressed; but the machine will not stop until it has disposed of the record then being played. It will either complete the reproduction of that particular record and replace it upon the record table, or the record discontinuing button may be pressed and the operation stopped immediately. But, in whichever way the operation is stopped, the machine will always come to a certain definite position before coming to rest; and in this position it is impossible for any manual opera-l tion of the exposed parts ot themachine to cause it damage.

@ne of the prime features of our invention is its extreme simplicity. "We are enabled to accomplish' the above described operations with an amount ot' mechanism very little in excess of the machinery sometimes but a single record. There are many ditlerent manners of moving the several parts of our machine; but

vWe have adopted what appears to be the most simple mode of operation and will hereinafter descrile the mechanism which we conceive to be 'the simplest and the one which accomplishes .its results in the most satisfactory and direct manner. ln this preferred form of Amechanism a rotatable nut engages with a thread on the mandrel shaft, so that, by rotation of this nut, the shaft may be eitherraised'or lowered, according to the direction of rotation. Means are provided for rotating the nut and the shaft at diferential speeds, and for starting and stopping rotation of the nut and shaft at different oints in the operation of the machine. T e direction of the mandrel screw thread in the present machine is such that, to feed the mandrel shaft downwardly by the differential action, the nut must be rotated slightly faster than the shaft itself; but this may be arranged as desired. For driving the nut a simple gear mechanism is provided connecting the nut with a sleeve rotating about the nut. This sleeve is loosely mounted on the shaft and is suitably rotatably connectible thereto. The gears connect the sleeve with the nut in such-manner that the nut travels slightly faster than the sleeve and in the same directioi; and the mechanism for the rotation of the nut takes the form of means for simply shifting these gears to throw them into and out of engagement.

The nut and shaft preferably rotate in the starting and stoppingA @cachee same direction; so that it will he seen that, ii the arrangement is such that when `the nut alone is revolving; the shaft is moved downwardly, when the shaft alone revolves in the same direction it `will bA moved u iwardly. i The rate of these n'xovcnients will depend entirely upon the speed of' rotation oi the nut and shaft and the pitch of the screw thread; and the pitch is made sufficientlf "darse to cause the movenient of thc shaft at considerable velocity when either the nut or the shaft is rotated alone. But when the nut and shaft are rotated together, the dilierential action causes the slow downward movement of the shaft whileit rotated; and it is during this nloveincnt that the reproducing mechanism thrown into engagement with the record to follow its sound groove. lhus, considered in a broad manner, the operation of the device is as follows; Mechanism controlled by the shalt when in its lower-most position causes the shaft to begin rotating. l` his immediately screws the shaft upwardly until it reaches its uppermost; point. Mechanism controlled by the position 'of the shaft at its uppermost point causes the nut to begin revolvmg and the shaft then moved down differentially while it is rotated. When the shaft has moved downwardly througha portion of its downward motion and the record on the mandrel has completely passed by the rcproducing mechanism, mechanism is cngaged by the shaft to stop the rotation of the shaft, the nut alone continuing its rotation. This causes the quick downward motion of the shaft to its original position. We have shown this preferred form of mechanism in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a front elevation with parts in vertical longitudinal section. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the main operating portions of our machine. F 1g. 3 is a nrtlal plan showmg the record carrying ta )le and the reproducer mechanism. Fig. d is a `detail horizontal section taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a detail horizontal section taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 2. .Figa 6' is a detail horizontal section taken on line 6 of Fig. 2. Fi 7 taken indicate by line 7T of Fig. 2. Fi?. 8 is partially a detail section taken as in icated by line 8-8 ot' Fig. 2 and partially a 'diagrammatic view showing the electrical connections of the driving motor and the controlling switches. F ig. 9 is a. bottom plan taken' as indicated by line 9-9 of Fig. 2. Fig. 10 is a sectional detail showing the governor connection of the driving motor to the mechanism. Fig. l1 is n. vertical section showing a moditiel arrange mont ot' mandrel shaft and nut. Fuz. l2 is a section taken on line 12H12 of l `i u I i ,5. il. ln the drawings 20 designates a suitable is a detail section' of any suitable material and vpreferablymounted in a case 21 of any desired deeigu This case has an upper shelf or floor '232cm which the reproducing mechanism 23 is'intended and of whose upper surface the revolving record table or support 2li' forms praeroicaily a continuation. Record table 2A @provided with a plurality or' pockets .25

arranged around its periphery, these pockets covered with a protective layer ot :telt or `any other suitable material. lil-coords 28 are placed in these pockets, standing loosely therein on annular shelves 26; and ,the

` clndes entirely their liability to detorm openings lll'througrh the annular shelves are suliieiently lartgeto pass a mandrel which will engagewith the interior ot the ycylin-l drical records. 'it will loe seen that the recu orde are carried in a manner which px or to breakage by contraction and experi-- sion. ylindrical records are usually besty stored. in a vertical position; and our machine has the advantage of holdingr the recorde in this most desirable position while@ they are in our machine. And it will be that the records are only engaged on ai mandrel while they are actually beine re produced; and this completely obviates: breakage by contraction of records on the mandrel which occurs in machines Where the' records are lett on the mandrels for a long period.

Record table Qa is mounted on a vertical allait '3G supported in suitable bearings 3l 'and 32 in frame Q0. Rotation of the record table about the axis of shaft 30 Will brine,r any desired record 28 opposite the reproducing mechanism 23 and into playing position. "We employ a registering device for accurately registering; the table in these positions, this device consisting in a spring" pressed roller 33 see Figs. 1 and 3) adapted to enter any one of suitable notches 34 in the periphery of the table. The roller 33 is mounted on a suitable plunger 35 and is pressed toward the table by a spring" 3G. The engagementot the roller with any one of thcnotches is sulicient to hold the table securely in position? but. insnii'icicnt to prevent the table from* being moved from one position to the next. The mechanism for inovinar the table from cone position to another will be hereinafter described.

Directly beneath the record pocket which stands opposite the reproducing` mechanism 23 there normally stands a record. engaging mandrel 40. Mandrel 4U is mounted andg ,supported on mandrel Ashaft lll, this shaft; being adapted for both longitudinal movement alone; and rotation about itsvertical' axis. Thev shaft 4l is preferably not directly journaled in frame 20; but at its upper end it is journaled in a nut 'l2 which in turn is journaled in a suitable bearing i3 in frame 20, and at its lower ond the shaft is jonrnaled in a sleeve lll- Which in turn is journaled in a suitable bearing il5 in frame 20. These arrangements are made for sake of simplicity of manufacture and operation.

The sleeve tel is of some vertical longitudinal g55 'extent and surrounds the shaft Lll with a running tit.A Directly above bearing drive balance Wheel 46 is secured to the sleeve el? being tightly forcedv on the sleeve in the -position shown. Directly above thebalance wheel 4G a gear 47 is cut on the sleeve; and at thc upper end of sleeve 44, a clutch member i8 is 'formed adapted to engage with a oorrespondinoi clutch member 49 on the lower end otra sliding and revolving sleeve 50. Sleeve 50 surrounds and slides vertically on a sleeve 5l whose lower end engages the upper cud of siecve i411 and prevents sleeve all from risinp,V and whose upper end engages the lower end ot bearing the sleeve 5l being' thus prevented from longitudinal movement. Sleeve 5l is secured b v key or spline 52 to rotate always with shaft ill, while sleeve 50 is secured by a pin and slot arrangement 53 lto rotate always with sleeve 5l but to be vertically slidable thereon so as to engage and disengage clutch members 4.8 and 49; and when the clutch members are disengaged and the sleeve 50 is in its uppermost position, the upper end of sleeve 50 engages a flange 51 on sleeve 51 as a limitL to its upward movement. By mountinar sleeve 50 on sleeve 5l which has no vertical longitudinal movement, instead of mounting it directly on shaft ll which has vertical longitudinal movement, it will be seen that alltendency of the vertically movinaT shaft to move sleeve 50 is avoided.

The sleeve 50 vhas a screw thread 60 with which the end G1 of a horizontally movingr delent 62 is adapted toengage. Detent G2 is mounted in suitable bearings in the -frame 20 and is provided with ity/spring (i3 which normally continuously presses the datent toward and into the screw thread 60; but certain stop mechanisms are provided for hold ing the detent against such movement at certain times. A notch (i4 is preferably cut in the under side of detent 62 and the correspondingly shaped upper end (35 of catch rod 6G is adapted to enter the notch when the detent 62 is Imoved to the left, in Fig. 2a

i Catch rod G6 isrnormally pressed upwardly by a springf 6T and it may be pulled down and out o-engasrement with thc detent 62 by the action of a bell crank lever 68 pivoted at G9 on the under side of frame Q0, the end 70 of one arm of the lever beinjr adaptedfor engagement by collar 7l on the lower end of mandrel shaft 4l when the mandrel shaft has moved upwardly to a suiii'cient extent. Collar 71 has also another function to perform when the shaft 41 is at its uppermostpoint of movement; this will be later eX- plained.

The detent 62 is connected at its end to a plate 75 confined between a collar 76 and ratchet 77 on table shaft 30. The aperture in plate 75 is sufiicient to allow longitudinal movement of dctent 62. The plate 75 is provided witha lug 78 which projects outside thc periphery of c'ollar 76 and upwardly so as to be engaged by arm 79 extending from collar 76 when the arm 79 has moved to the position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. and the latter part of this movement of arm 79 moves the lug '78 so as to move the detent 62 sufficiently to disengage its 'end 61 from lscrew thread 00 of sleeve 50. The arm 79 is moved from the position shown in full lines to the position shown in dotted lines through the medium of a push rod 80 mounted in suitable bearings 81 in the frame and adapted to engage with a cam 82 mounted on diiierential shaft 83. The cam 82 is vmounted on the differential shaft through the medium of a .pin and slot arrangement 84 so that it will rotate with the shaft but not necessarily move downv with the shaft from its position as shown in Fig. 2. The. l push rod 80 normally rests in the position shown in Figs.2 and 5, with its cam en.- gaging end below the cam 82; and it is necessary for the cam to be lowered in order to engag this push rod and to force it to the left in Fig. 5 by virtue of rotation of the cam. The push rod 80 has a notch 86 engageable by a vertically moving catch rod 87 which is hungr loosely from lever 89. Vhen lever 89 is moved down trom its position shown in Fig. 2,it will press against spring 90 and thus force the catch rod 87 into the notch 86 when the notch 80 is moved below the end of the catch rod; the sequenceof operations being such that the catch rod 87 is pushed down before the push rod 8C is moved from itsposition shown in Fig. 2. The cam' 82. as hereinbefore state'd, is mounted on differential shaft 83 so as torotate therewith but not necessarily to move longitudinally therewith. Connected with the cam is a sleeve having a collar on its upper end engageable by an inclined yoke 96 so as to raise the sleeve and the cam 82 to the position shown in 2 or so as to hold it in that position and not allow it to dro when the differential shaft 83 is pushe downwardly. This yoke 96 is mounted von the end ofa. push rod 97 manually operable from the front of the machine. Twoswitch contacts 98 are so 'mounted on frame 20 that electrical circuit is adapted to be closed between them by a disk 99 carried on push rod 9? when the push rod is in the position shown in Fig. 8 and when inclined yoke 96 `the contactsl 98 will suppl mandrel .t-ion. Vrotation at certain points of the operation is out of engagement with collar 95. When the rod 97 is pushed in to break the circuit between contacts 98 and to stop the machine, thon the yoke 96 is placed beneath the collar 95 to hold the cam 82 in the position shown and to prevent it dropping into engagemeni with rod 80. Thus, whenever the machine is stopped, the automatic operation of the table does not take place until the machine is again started. This will be explained hereinafter. y.

We have shown a motor 100 for driving the machine, this motor bein connected to fly wheel 46 throughthe me ium of a friction wheel 10] controlled by a suitable ball governor 102. The speed ofthe machine is thus kept uniform. Motor 100 is illustrated diagrammatieally in Fig. 8 and the connections to any suitable source of electrical energy are also illustrated.. It will be noted that closure of circuit through current to the motor; and also that cosure of cir cuit through a `switch 103 will supply current thereto. This switch 103 is mounted on a rod 104 depending from the outer end of lever 89. When the lever 89 is below the position shown, the circuit through switch 103 will be broken: hut, as the lever is only in its lower-most position when the shaft 41 is in its lowermost position. the switch 103 is only open when the shaft is in its lowermost position and when' mandrel 40 is suiiiciently low to entirely disengage the table 24. Thus, if push Vrod 97 is moved inwardly while the mandrel is in one of its upper positions, the machine will continue operation until the switch 103 is opened by the shaft reaching its lowermost position. Q

Vc will now explain the preferred mech anism by mcanslof which the shaft 41 is moved longitudinally and rotated in proper relation to its longitudinal movement, and will then explain the complete operation of the combined mechanism.

Shaft 41 is provided with a suitable screw .thread in such direction which, engaging with the corresponding threads 111. on the interior ,of nut 42, will raise the shaft when rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow in the lower portion of Figs. 1 and 2. Nut 42 is also rotatable; and the fundamental feature of this preferred form of mechanism consists in providingr certain means for intermittently rotating the shaft and the nut, preferably in the same direc- The nut is lstarted and stopped in and likewise the shaft; and the relative speeds of rotation of the shaft and nut are such as to accomplish the movements required ofthe machine. lVith the nut rotating in the same direction as the mandrel shaft, to feed the mandrel shaft downis not rigidly 'is preferably a half inch; so that of its own revolutions.

I the mandrel.

be seen that, bysuitable arrangementshthisdifferential action might 'be exactly reversed. A simpleI gear mechanism isemployed for driving the nut, consisting of a gear 112 mounted on the lower end of dif ferential shaft 83 and meshing with gear 47 on sleeve 44, and gear 113 mounted on the upper end of diierential shaft 83 and meshing intermittently with gear 114 on the ex terior of nut 42. lnthe present arrangement gear 113 has more teeth than gear 112, the ratio being such that the nut 42 is rotated plmtimes faster than sleeve 44 and "shaft 41. This dierence in number of teeth of the two' gears is so slight as to not require an appreciable difference in diameter of the gears; so thatl we have found in practice that it is possible to arrange the two gears 112 and 113 on the same shaft, either setting -the shaft over slightly at its upper end or( cutting the teeth in gear' 113 slightly closer together. Any suitable arrangement, however, may be used to accommodate these two gears. The pitch of screw thread 110v seen that, when the nut'a-nd shaft are both rotatingl in the same direction, the shaft will he fed downwardly T51, of an inch for each Dilierential shaft 83 is slidable and is heldI in its upper position, as shown by means of a spring 115. Spring 115 is confined between twos'leeves 116 and 11.7 slidable'on shaft 83, the lower sleeve beingr revolubly secured to the shaft, so that both sleeves and the spring will rof 'ta-te therewith. This places the spring between two parts which have the en -me motion and' thus eliminates all Afriction `and torsion on the spring. The upper end of shaft 83 comes directly vbeneath a ortion ofy lever 89 so that it may be pushed own when the lever 89 is pushed down. Lever 89 is moved 'downwardly by engagement with `a collar 120 mounted on mandrel' shaft 41 directly beneath mandrel 40. This cellar 120 mounted on the mandrel shaft but is providied with a slot 121. engaging a pin 122 toV all'ow a limited vertical move` ment. Normally, the collar 120 is pressed downwardly by a spring 123 which 'seats thereon. This spring 123 extendsupwardly and supports the hollow mandrel 40 in the position shown, a suitable' stop 124 being provided to limit the upward movement of The o eration of this man.- drel will hey heroine ter described.; it will here sufce to say that the collar120 first ein gaging' with lever 89' is pressed. u wardly to the position illustrated and t en," by further downward movement of the shaft 41, the lever 89 is pressed down and forces the shalt 83 downwardly until gear 113 is out of engagement with, gear 114. This it will be.

stops the rotation of nut 42; and at the same time a small brake 130 is applied to the surface of the nut to keep it from being rotated by frictional engagement with the still ro tating shaft 41. Brake 130 is preferably a .simple pivoted arm engageable by a suitable sgring 131 mounted on lever 89. When the s aft 41 has reached its lowermost point, then rod 104 has moved downwardly until anv annular notch 132 at .its lower end can be engaged by a catch 133. lThe lower side of thisnotch 132Ais-beveled, as illustrated in Fig. 2, so thal'tli'vhen the catch 133 enters its action may bea/t pull the rod 104 farther down. A spring 134 presses the catch 133 into engagement "with the rod 104,the catch beingplvoted ett-,135 on the bottom offrame 20. he catch 133 .is in the form of a double armed lever, and its arm opposite that which engages the rod 104 is provided with a lug the lower endl-of mandrel shaft 41. The

move the catch in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig, 9 'so as to releaseiit from the notch 132 and allow the rod 104 to be moved to its normal upper position by spring 137 and allow lever S9 to be raised by shaft 83 tending to' rise under the action of spring 115. y

In describing the operation, we will start with the machine in the position shown. Fly wheel 46 is being rotated in the direc-A tion indicated by the arrow, and with it the sleeve 44. Shaft 41 is not now `being rofated, the ,clutch members 48 and 49 being held out of engagement by the mechanism hereinbefore described. (It will be remembered that the only rotary connection be.n tween sleeve 44 and shaft 41 is through the clutch menibers48 and 49 and the sleeves 50 and 51.) Nut 42 is being rotated inl the same direction as ily wheel 46 end is therefore moving shaft41 `downwardly at considerable velocity. This downward move mentof the shaft immediately causes the downward movement- -of lever 89, causing the disengagement. oi' gear 113 Vfroni gear 11.4 and causing the application of brake 130 to the nut to stop its rotation. Simultaneously with this action, the catch 133 engages the notch 132 to hold the lever 89 in its lower osition until the catch 133 is released. Tlie shaft 83 being thus held in its lower position, it is still rotated `by the -engagement of gear 112 with gearv 47 on sleeve 44, and the cam 82 will drop down toen gage its face with push rod .80 as soonv as its lower point 839 comes opposite the push rod 86. immediately this has occurred, the push 'rod is moved in the direction indicated and thus moves the arm 79 and the collar" "Z6` through approximately a twelfth of a revo` l'ution. A pawl 79 moves with the collar 76 and engages the teeth of ratchet 7'? so as vto 136 adapted to be engaged by collar 71 on action of this collar on the catch 133'is to iov ioe

ias

' moves it upwardlyy until its lowermost sound' move the ratchet and the table 'shaft 30' through a twelfth or arfrevolution. The table is thus moved 'trom `tine position to the next, being registered in correct position by the registry device hereinbetore'described. The catch rod 87 drops into notch 86 and holds the push rod 80 in its position to 'the left in Fig. 5 and thus prevents another feeding movement taking place while the differential shait 83 and the cani 82 are in their lowermost positions. During the last portion of the movement or' arm 79 it engages the lug 78 to move the lug and to thereby move theA detent 62 as hereinbetore described. When the detent 62 is moved its end 61 is moved out of engagement with the screw thread titl-on sleeve 5() and the end 65 of catch rod 66 is allowed to enter notch 64 in thedetent to hold it inits lett hand position in Fig. 2. lThe sleeve 50 immediately drops and the clutch members 4S and 49 engage each other and immediately start the rotation of shaftv 4l. Nut 42 is still held stationary, and the rotation ofshaft 41 will thus move the shaft upwardly at a. considerable velocity. ln its upward movement, the mandrel 40 engages a record 28 and groove is directly opposite or slightly above the stylus point 23 of reproducing mechanism 23. As collar 71 on the lower end of shaft 41 passes the lower end 70 of hell crank leverv 68, it will press the lever 68 outwardly and pull the catch rod 6G downwardly. 'But the detent 62 is still held in its lett hand position by the engagement oi lug 78 with arm 79, the arm 79 being held in its lefthand position in Fig. 5 as hereinbeore explained by the engagement of rod 87 with notch 86 inA push rod 80. The catch rod 66 will therefore be allowed to drop immediately again into notch 64 and to hold the detent 62 in its left hand position until released. lVhen the shaftand mandrel reach their uppermost positions, the collar 71 erigages the portion 136 of catch 133 and moves it to release the rod 104. This immediately allows the lever 89 to move upwardly, releasing brake 130 from nut 42 and engaging gear 113 with gear 114 and ystarting the rotation. of the nut. The shaft and nut are now both rotating in the same direction and the downward differential movement of the shaft begins. The reproducer mechanism has been let into engagement with` the record by a suitable mechanism and reproduction immediately starts. Then the shaft 41 has been fed downwardly by thisdifferential movement through the length of a record, orof the sound grooves thereon, the collar 71 on the end of shaft 41 will engage again with end portion of bell crank lever 68 and will pull the catch rod 66 trom engagementl with the notch 64 in :latent The push rod 80 being no noechefe longer held by the rod 87, the detent 62 is allowed t-o move to the right under the influence of its spring 63 and its end 61 will immediately engage with the screw thread 60 of sleeve 50. Further rotation of the sleeve 50 will cause it to be raised until the clutch members 48 and 4.9 have disengaged. This immediately stops the rotation of shaft 41 but ma 4e is Sau rotating. The sima is through the shelf 22 of the case and has an arm 151 engaging with a link 152 and thus adapted to pull the stylus plate 153 of the reproducer back to disengage stylus 23 from a record. There are spring means in the reproducer mechanism (not shown) for thro/wing the stylus into engagement with a record when released. The reproducer shaft 150 tends to rotation in the direction indi\ cated in Fig. 2 under the influence of el spring 154; but means are employed to hold the reproducer shaft in the position shown while thesleeve 50 is in its uppermost position or while the lever position. When the sleeve 50 moves upwardly it moves a small lever 155 having a beveled end engaging a radially projecting arm 156 on shaft 150. The shaft is thus moved. to the position shown. When lever 89 moves downwardly a lug 157 thereon'en` gages an arm 15S mounted on shaft 150 and thus holds the shaft 15() in the position illustrated until the lever 89 shall move iipwardly. Thusit will be seen that the reproducer point. is moved from engagement with a record when the vsleeve 50 is raised; and it will be remembered that this sleeve 50 rises when the reproduction of a record has been completed. And the reproducer point is only let into engagement with the record when the lever 89 moves upwardly, or when the mandrel 40 has picked up another record and has reached its uppermost position with it.

We will now explain the means for man` ually controlling the operation of the machine.

For causing the repetition of a single record, it is only necessary to cause the table Q4 not to move from one position to the next. This is simply accomplished by meansY of pin 160 adapted to engage pawl 7 9 yand mounted on the end of a push rod 161. This rod 161 may be manually operated; and its friction is usually sutlicient to hold it in position with the pawl 79a raised so that it will move over the tooth of ratchet 77 which it would otherwise engage to move the 89 is in its lowcrmost llti ' thus to raise the sleeve 50 and stop the rotanoechefey the rod 161 is pulled outwardly. If it is de-l sired to discontinue a record which is being played and to immediately replace it upon the table and to go on to the next record, it is only necessary to press inwardly upon a rod 170. This rod has upon its inner end a small wedge 171 engaging over collar 172 on catch rod 66. 4Inward movement of rod 170 will thus move catch rod 66 down, allowing detent 62 to move to the right in Fig. 2 to engage the'screw thread 60 of sleeve 50 and tion of shaft lll. Whenever the, shaft 4l is stopped in rotation it is immediately fed downwardly by rotation of nut 42, the reoord upon mandrel 40 replaced upon the table, and the table moved to present a new record.- The rod 170 is normally held out- Wardly hy means of a spring 173, so that it will immediately return to its `normal posi tion after each o eration.

The action o shaft 41 is such as to always accurately place the record on the mandrel into proper position with relation to the reproducing mechanisin. Records va` somewhat in their internal diameters, an are also apt to become warped, and will therefore fit at different positions upon the mandrel 40. When the mandrel 40 picks u a record the record settles loosely aroun its conical surface and the mandrel then moves on upwardly and the record willengage with suitable stationary members (not shown) situated at such a height that, when the upper edge of the rec ord engages them, it will be in correct starting position before the reproducing mech anism. The mandrel shaft 'is arranged so that it will have a slightly excessive An'ioyement upward, andn this excessive movement is' taken up by the shaft sliding upwardly through the mandrel. A paw] 180 will then -1 engage with ratchet teeth 181 on the mandrel and will hold the mandrel down on the shaft .the proper' position.

when the shaft has moved to its up ermost position. This pawl 180 is pivote to the mandrel shaft and is operated by a spring 182i lt will thus be seen that the downward movement of a record will always start from When the mandrel reaches its lowermost position, the sleeve 120 is pressed upwardly by engagement with lever 89 as hereinbefore described and this u ward movement causes the pawl 18d` to lie pressed inwardly .by reason of engagement of the sleeve with a` projecting inclinedportion 183 on the awl. then immediately moved toits uppermost position ready for taking the next record and for heng'adjusted properly therefor.

mandrel 40 on mandrel" The mandrel will y ln Eiga; 11 and, 'l2v we havelshowmodie fied forme of'mounting-the nut 42* andthd shaft 111". In this form. the shaft `is mounted"v directly bearings oits own, as at 200, and

the nuthas no exteriorhearing. Around-f the not there is a sleeve 201 which carries; n.. gear 114i", the sleeve 261 bein connected. with the nut 42' through the me ,um of-two keys or similar devices 202, the keys being; preferably loose in the sleeve 201. This arrangement provides for eliminating alll vibration of gears lland 114 being transmitted to the mandrel shaft, providing themandrel with an upper hearing of its own inde` pendent of the nut bearing.

Having described our invention, we claim:

1. In a device of the character described, a shaft rotatable and longitudinally trans lat-able, a screw thread on theshaft, a rotatable gear toothed nut engaging the-screw thread, a rotating gear toothed sleeve loosely mounted around the shaft, another sleeve keyed lto the shaft to slide thereon, intero engaging means on the sleeves to rotatively connect them, differential gear connection between the irst mentioned sleeve and the nut comprisinga differential shaft parallel visi till

to said first 'named shaft, gears rigidly mounted on said shaft and engaging wit the gear teeth 'of the nut and loose sleeve respectively, and means controlled by thelongitudinal position of said rst men#V tioned shaft to move the differential shaft and attached gears longitudinally todisen gage one of them from the gear teeth normally meshing therewith, and means controlled by the longitudinal position of said' first mentioned shaft to more said second mentioned sleeve on said shaft relatively to they first mentioned sleeve.

EZ. In a device of theleharacter described, a vertical mandrel shaft rotatable and longitudinally translatable, a screw thread on the shaft a rotatable gear toothed nut en gagingthe screw thread, a rotating gear toothed sleeve loosely mounted around the mandrel shaft, another sleeve keyed to the shaft to rotate therewith and slide thereon, inter-engaging means on the sleeves' to ro tatively connect them together, diderential gearconnection between the rst mentioned sleeve and the nut comprising a differential shaft parallel to the mandrel shaft, two gears rigidly adixed one at the up er and one at the lower end of the di 'erential shaft, the upper gear normally engaging the gear teeth of the nut and the lower engaging the; gear teeth of the-sleeve, a spring aan normally holding the shaft and gears up,- y

the gear teeth o the mit, and meahs controlled by the longitudinal position ofv the 'ist ivbyt mandrel shaft to move the second named sleeve von the mandrel shaft relative'to the first mentioned'sleeve.

3. In a device of the character described, a vertical mandrel shaft rotatable and longitndnally translatable, a screw thread on the shaft a rotatable gear toothed nut engaging the screw thread, a rotating gear toothed sleeve loosely mounted around the mandrel shaft, another sleeve keyed to the shaft to rotate therewith and slide thereon, inter-engaging means on the sleeves to rotatively connect them together, differential gear connection between the first mentioned sleeve and the nut comprising a differential shaft parallel to the mandrel shaft, two gears rigidly afixed one at the up er and one at the lower end of the dffrential shaft, the upper gear normally engaging the gear teeth of the nut and the lower engaging the gear teeth of the sleeve, a spring normally holding the shaft and gears upwardly, means actuated bv the downward movement of the mandrel shaft to move the differential shaft and gears downwardly todisengage the upper differentialxgear from the gear ,teeth of the nut, means controlled e longitudinal position of the mandrel shaft to move the second mentioned sleeve on the mandrel shaft relative to the first mentioned sleeve, a vertical record supportshaft, a cam mounted on and movable with the differential shaft, and a push rod engageable by the cam when the differential shaft is moved downwardly, said ush rod by its cam caused motion causing t e operation of the said ratchet means.

4. In a device of the character described, a.vertical mandrel shaft rotatable and 1ongitudinally translatable, a screw thread on thel shaft a rotatable gear. toothed nut engagingv the'screwl thread, a rotating gear toothed sleeve loosely mounted around the mandrel shaft, another sleeve keyed to the,

holding the shaftA and gears upwardly,

means actuated by the downward movement of the mandrel shaft to move the differential shaft and gears downwardly to disengage thel upper differential gear from the gear teeth of the nut, means controlled by the longitudinal position of the mandrel shaft to move the second mentioned sleeve on the mandrel shaft relative to the first mentioned sleeve, a Vertical record supporting shaft, ratchet means for rotating said shaft, a cam mounted on and movable with the differential shaft, a push rod. engageable by the cam when the differential shaft is moved downwardly, said push rod by its cam tansed 'motion causing the operation of the said ratchet means, and means coperating with said last named shaft controlled means to hold said second mentioned sleeve away from the first mentioned sleeve releasable by the action of said ratchet means.

In witness that we claim the foregoing we have hereunto subscribed our names this 30th day of March, 1912.

HARRY T. SCOTT. LEO J. PATTERSON.

Witnesses:

JAMES T. BARKELEW, ELwooD H. BAnKELnw. 

